I Dare You To Move
by TyriaT
Summary: Wonder Woman confronts Batman after a battle and a kiss.


**Title:** I Dare You to Move

**Author: **TyriaT

**Pairing: **BMWW

**Spoilers:** Justice League episode This Little Piggy

**Disclaimer:** Nope, they are definitely not mine. I don't own the song "Dare You to Move" either. That is sung by Switchfoot.

**Comments:** In the middle of writing "Biding Time", I was struck by this song. Since finishing that story, I have been able to concentrate on this one and finally finish it. And, due to demand, there will be an epilogue to "Biding Time" that should be completed soon. For now, enjoy, and please review, because they are what keep me writing. Those and the plot bunnies that take over my head.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bruce dodged another kick from Shade while trying to keep an eye on the rest of the battle being fought in the streets of Washington, D.C. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and himself had been sent to the Smithsonian Museum when Giganta, Shade, and Sinestro were seen entering the buildings. When they arrived, the villainous trio was exiting the museum with a golden staff topped with the Eye of Horus. Instantly spotting his nemesis, Sinestro growled in anger, lit up his yellow ring and went after Green Lantern, leaving Shade and Giganta to guard the staff and attempt escape.

Before they made a move, Diana and Batman were in position to stop them from leaving with the artifact. Giganta enlarged herself and began fighting the Amazon, while Shade took on an aggressive martial arts stance, fully intent on challenging Batman. The Dark Knight knew he could easily defeat the thief, and concentrated on getting the staff away from his foe in order to return it to the museum.

It took only a few moments work in order to twist the artifact from the hands of Shade, and knock him to the ground. The instant Batman had the staff securely in hand, he saw Giganta knock Diana to the ground. Apparently, it was not the first time, because there was some blood on the Amazon's face.

And Diana was not getting up.

"Diana!" He called.

Batman hurled an explosive Batarang at the giant who was about to deal a crushing blow to the fallen warrior.

"_No, Diana! No!"_ He thought.

The explosion from the Batarang knocked Giganta to the ground and clear of Diana. Batman ran toward the two fallen women.

The only words in his mind; _"Get Up Princess!"_

He started remembering the first moment he saw her, the times they talked about her heritage, and the battles they had endured, side by side. His memories were fond, but his thoughts were harsh as he tried to cross the meters separating them in order to remove her from harm. Giganta began to rise, but Batman threw another Batarang to blow her further away from the Amazon.

"_GET UP PRINCESS!"_

iiiiiii_  
_

_Welcome to the planet_

_Welcome to existence_

_Everyone's here_

_Everyone's here_

_Everybody's watching you now_

_Everybody waits for you now_

_What happens next?_

_What happens next?_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened_

_Today never happened before  
_

iiiiiii

Almost as if responding to his thoughts, he saw Diana move her head. The relief he felt at that small movement only lasted a moment as he fell face first in the ground due to a kick in his back. Flipping himself up, Batman turned around to see Shade beginning another attack. He easily avoided the attack and switched positions in order to see if Diana was going to be alright. After she flew in the air and began battling Giganta again, Batman quickly took care of Shade and tied him up to keep him out of the fight.

He shot off his grapple to quickly propel himself to the museum entrance, where he handed over the staff to the security guard. Running out the door, he shot off the line again to help Diana with her fight. As he touched the ground, Diana gave the knock-out blow to Giganta, leaving her unconscious on the ground. She stood for a few seconds making sure the larger woman was not going to get up.

Batman stopped running to her side when he saw Giganta fall, and began looking for Green Lantern and Sinestro. Just as he located the fighting pair, he saw Sinestro use his yellow ring to propel a piece of a building at the unprotected back of the princess.

"Diana!" He yelled as he began running toward her again.

She turned to look at him, and was swiftly tackled backwards. Diana ended up on her back with her hands wrapped around the back of Batman, who's arms were wrapped around her waist and face was buried in her neck. With their legs tangled together, Diana was unable to move.

Batman raised his head and looked into her eyes. "Are you alright, Princess?"

Quickly she mentally assessed any injuries. "I will be fine. I am, however, curious as to why you threw yourself at me."

"Sinestro threw part of a building at you. I had to move you out of its path."

Diana smiled. "Once again, you have saved me from, if not death, at least a rather large headache. Perhaps you are my knight in dark armor?"

"Excuse me?" Batman could feel his muscles tense in shock and he held himself slightly away from her body.

"I have been studying the Medieval time period. Flash noticed what I was reading, and began talking about what he called 'Fairy Tales'. He talked about princesses and knights in shining armor rescuing said princesses from various dangers. Once again, stories written by men to make women appear weak." Her look of distaste morphed into a sly smile. "They did always seem to end the same way. A gift of appreciation given in the form of a kiss."

"That is not…"

Before he was able to finish speaking, Diana leaned up and kissed his lips. He instantly responded, deepening the kiss and gently pushing her head back until it was resting once again on the ground. Slowly, his body settled onto hers giving his hands the opportunity to cup her face. It was not until he felt her wince and moan when he accidentally pressed into one of her battle wounds that he instantly stopped, pushing himself off the ground and away from her.

"Perhaps you should see to your opponent before giving thanks." Batman walked away to see if Shade was still where he left him.

Breathing deep to get her heart rate to slow, Diana allowed her eyes to follow Batman as he walked over to his downed enemy. Mentally, she acknowledged that he had a point, as she finally pushed herself off the ground to bind Giganta. But she knew if she had not acted when she did, he might not have reacted to her kiss.

"_Oh, Aphrodite, what a reaction!"_ She thought. Diana never had any notion that Batman would give back better than she gave.

She secured Giganta for transport, and flew her to where the others already had Shade and Sinestro.

After ensuring the authorities had everything under control, Green Lantern turned to the other two. "You lovebirds ready to go?"

Diana saw Batman give John a glare, and it took all she had to hold in the laughter, while her face turned beet red with embarrassment. After the mission where they became children, Lantern never missed the opportunity to make a comment about the two of them.

Instead of walking toward the Javelin, Batman stepped in the opposite direction. "I have my own ride."

Diana and John watched as Batman shot his grapple into the air, connecting with the hovering Batplane they failed to notice before. Quickly, Diana turned her communicator to a particular channel and took a few steps away from Green Lantern. "Batman."

"Princess." She heard his tiny voice in her ear.

"I believe we should talk."

There was a pause, but then, "All that needs to be said, has been said. Batman out." She heard the communicator click off.

Diana's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared in anger. She could not believe the audacity of the man to kiss her the way he did and then act like it was nothing. Storming her way onto the javelin, she flopped down into the co-pilot seat, buckled the harness while almost ripping it out of the seat, and crossed her arms and her legs.

John followed at a more sedate pace, calmly readying himself and the craft while glancing a time or two over at the angry Amazon. It wasn't until they were in the air that Green Lantern finally spoke. "Was it something I said?"

Diana closed her eyes, bowed her head and sighed heavily. "It was not you. Sometimes I swear Hermes had a hand in raising Batman."

"He does have a way of pushing a person's buttons."

Diana turned to John and gave him a very confused look, her mouth slightly open and her brow furrowed. "I am not wearing any buttons."

He chuckled. "It's an expression. It means that Batman always seems to know what to say or do to make another person mad."

"I see…Yes. You are right." She settled back in her chair for the rest of the flight.

Batman's curt answer stayed with her as she exited the Javelin, while she wrote up her report, and after she retired to her room. She knew something needed to be done or said, but she highly doubted Bruce would be the one to step forward. That meant it was up to her.

Diana flopped backward onto her bed and closed her eyes. She knew the decision to make the first step was the easy part. The difficult part would be figuring out exactly _how _to confront him without ruining their friendship, but at the same time helping him to see that their relationship could become something more without getting in the way of his duty to his city.

"Oh, Hera, I might be better off building a time machine with my costume." She sighed and put her arm over her eyes. "Think, Diana. You have the wisdom of Athena. You have to come up with something." Although her body was completely still on the bed, her mind was racing, coming up and discarding countless solutions to her problem.

Suddenly she sat up. "Gaia! That is the answer!" She strode over to her desk. "I am trying to get Batman to agree to something. He responds best to logic." Picking up a pencil and pad of paper, she went back to the bed, sat cross-legged, and opened the pad to a blank page. "I just have to refute each of his arguments with well thought-out answers."

Diana quickly got to work, knowing she could not allow the moment to fade from his memory.

Putting down the pencil, she sighed and leaned back against the headboard to give her mind a rest. She rolled her head to look at the clock while leaning on the headboard. Noticing the time, Diana quickly pushed off the bed and went to her closet to pick out a pair of jeans and a white blouse. She glanced one more time at the notebook before walking out the door. Arriving at the transporter, she typed in a code known only to a select few.

Although she did not get cold, Diana could feel the difference after she was transported. The air was damp, less sterile than the air in the watchtower. It was also a lot darker, but then again, it was a cave.

She looked over to her right and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Batmobile still in place on the turntable. Taking a step away, she began to scan the rest of the large cavern. Diana did not immediately see Batman, which caused her to be curious as she made her way over to the massive Cray computer giving off most of the available light. Every other time she arrived at the cave, Batman instantly knew she was there, and he always had some sort of welcome for her.

Just as Diana reached the lone chair in the cave and put her hand on the back, a voice startled her.

"Hello, Princess."

She whirled around to see Bruce walking toward her, his cape and cowl in hand.

"Why are you here?" he asked as he began attaching the cape to the rest of his costume.

"Bruce," his eyes narrowed slightly, "I feel that we need to talk about what happened today."

"I thought I told you…"

"Maybe _you_ have said everything you need to say, but _I_ have not been afforded the same opportunity." Diana interrupted.

Batman raised an eyebrow in question, but stood with cowl in hand, waiting for her to go on.

"In the past, you have given reasons against our pursuing a more intimate relationship, and I find they have no merit whatsoever." His eyes narrowed at her dismissal. "The first reason, dating always leads to disaster, is completely untrue. Yes, John is having some trouble, but look at Green Arrow and Black Canary, or Question and Huntress, or Dr. Fate and Inza. No disasters have happened between those couples. There have been some difficult times, but no relationship is without those. Also, they all understand the lifestyle they have chosen. I understand that you may have to leave at a moment's notice in the middle of a date. I know Gotham and its residents need your help, and I will not knowingly keep you from your duty to them. We are both very stubborn, so there will be fights. But if Question, the man who believes everyone has a hidden motive, can make a relationship work with Huntress, I cannot help but believe we will be fine in the end."

She took a couple steps toward him allowing her arm to slowly slide off the back of the chair as she passed it. "Your second reason is full of true statements. I am a princess from a society of immortal warriors. You are a rich kid with issues." Diana shook her head. "However, I do not see these truths as being a detriment to a relationship. We are both warriors. How we achieved that status was different, but we are both warriors. And just because I am immortal does not mean I will outlive you. I am not invulnerable. You witnessed that today." She laughed. "I would not be surprised if you outlive us all, Bruce." The smile lingered on her face while she paused.

"If I do live for many centuries, I would like to know that I lived my life and honored my goddesses through my full life. I could relive the memories I made and think back on those times fondly. I do not need a man, but you are not just a man. You have amazed and frightened many members of the League. I understand that your life is not perfect, and you are more likely to shut me out than want to share, but that is part of who you are. Your issues are what forced you to create the hero." Diana smirked. "And if you think you are the only one with issues in this cave, you are sadly mistaken."

Diana took a couple more steps, bringing her within an arms length of Bruce. "Finally, your enemies. You are up against some very cunning criminals, but you are brilliant in your own right. None of your enemies know your true identity. If they had, Alfred, Leslie, Dick, they would all be in danger. Well, more danger than they are already, being connected to the wealthy CEO of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate."

She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. "Not that I am without appreciation for the gesture, but I am a big girl and can take care of myself." She allowed her hand to slowly drop, lightly dragging her fingers down his chest. "I have enemies, too, Bruce. They would love nothing more than to take me down in any way possible. So, I guess the real question would be, can you handle _my_ enemies?"

Bruce raised his head and stood there stiffly, the picture of outrage.

"We share an attraction. Deny it all you want, but you would not have kissed me the way you did if you felt nothing for me." She took the final step forward, bringing her body into his personal space, but keeping their bodies from touching. "All I ask for is a chance to explore this attraction."

Diana looked into his eyes for a long moment, until he moved.

With their eyes still locked, he put on his cowl, and then strode around her to the Batmobile.

She closed her eyes and hung her head. Breathing heavily, Diana took her time getting herself under control enough to return to the Watchtower, since she knew he would not be back this evening.

iiiiiii

_Welcome to the fallout_

_Welcome to resistance_

_The tension is here_

_The tension is here_

_Between who you are and who you could be_

_Between how it is and how it should be_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened_

_Today never happened  
_

iiiiiii

Bruce pealed out of the cave and away from the Amazon he left standing there. He tried to center his mind, to ready it for patrol, but he had great difficulty shutting out her voice and the arguments she made. Trees sped by as he thought about each of his arguments and why he made them. They had seemed so clear and logical before. But when he compared them to her responses, his reasons were impulsive and weak.

_Am I using logic, or am I just trying to come up with anything, any reason, to keep her from getting too close to me?_

He pondered on that thought while he parked the Batmobile in a relatively safe place. Batman shut off the vehicle, but remained in his seat.

_Would it be a bad thing, allowing her to get close to me?_

Pushing a button to open the canopy, Batman unbuckled the harness and shot his grapple into the air. It caught on the building and propelled him out of the car. Once on top of the building, Batman found himself still wondering if he was doing the right thing, instead of paying attention to the city and his patrol.

_It's not as if my life is isolated. Robin, Batgirl, and Oracle are part of the group I have made. They help from time to time. She did not mention helping me with my city at all._

Their kiss and his participation in said kiss ran through his mind.

iiiiiii

_Maybe redemption has stories to tell_

_Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell_

_Where can you run to escape from yourself?_

_Where you gonna go?_

_Where you gonna go?_

_Salvation is here  
_

iiiiiii

The decision made, he turned on his communicator. "Robin."

"_Robin, here._"

"Batgirl."

"_Yes._"

"I need the two of you to take care of the city tonight. There is some unfinished business I need to take care of."

After Batman gained their agreements, he switched the channel and made another call.

"Oracle."

"_Yes, Batman._"

"You heard."

"_I did. I will watch over them and call you with the emergency code if necessary._"

"Batman out."

He leapt from the building, using his cape to slow his descent to the ground, while he thumbed the control, triggering the car to open the canopy. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he jumped into the vehicle and pealed out of the alley. Driving as if possessed, Batman soon arrived at the cave, barely allowing the Batmobile to come to a stop before he vaulted himself out of the car. He ran toward the transporter, when the sight of her in the exact same place he left her caused him to slow down until he came to a stop.

They stood there, on opposite sides of the cave, unable to move as they looked with surprise at the fact that the other was there. Batman began slowly walking her way. With each step, his momentum became faster until he stood before her. His hands reached out, cupping her cheeks, to pull her lips to his for a passionate kiss.

iiiiiii

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to lift yourself lift yourself up off the floor  
_

iiiiiii

He released her lips in order to catch his breath.

"Bruce?"

"I can't…" Bruce pulled off the cowl and looked into her eyes and her breath caught at the emotion she saw there. "I care about you, Diana. And I want to try."

As his words sank in, a slow smile started at her lips and traveled through her face until Diana's face was completely lit up with joy. She raised her arm and threaded her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. After a few minutes, she pulled away. "But, Bruce, what about Gotham?"

"The kids can take care of her tonight."

He was about to kiss her again, when she pulled back further. "No." He stiffened at her word, wondering what she could have meant by that. "Batman is part of who you are, and Gotham is his to protect. I will not interfere with that." She pulled his cowl back into place. "Go. Save her citizens. I'll be here when you return."

"Promise?" She could hear the uncertainty behind his words, fearing that she would leave him.

"Promise."

Diana kissed him in farewell. Bruce brushed her cheek with his gloved hand, and then ran back to the Batmobile to once again begin his patrol. She continued to watch as the flame from the tailpipes faded into the night, leaving the man behind her unnoticed.

"Miss Diana." She jumped at the voice and swiftly turned to face Alfred. "I apologize if I frightened you, Miss. I was curious if you would like something to eat or drink while you wait."

"How did…" She smiled and shook her head. "I would love to, but only if you join me."

ooooooooooooo

Bruce jumped out of the car, only to find an empty Batcave. Confused, he made his way over to the computer, where he noticed a note written in Alfred's distinctive script.

"Miss Diana expressed the need for some nourishment. You should be able to find her in the kitchen or the downstairs living room."

He quickly showered and changed out of his costume and into casual khakis and a dark, long-sleeved shirt. Running up the stairs, Bruce first checked the kitchen, which was empty except for a cup sitting in the sink. He made his way over to the living room, but paused in the doorway.

There he found Diana asleep on the couch. Her knees bent slightly, her right hand pillowing her head, and her left clutching the throw pillow to her. Her chin was burrowed into her chest, causing her hair to fall over her face, obscuring it slightly. Bruce slowly and quietly made his way over to her sleeping form. He sat by her head and brushed back a few strands of hair that had fallen over her face.

At his touch, Diana stirred and tried to reach for his hand. "Bruce," she softly questioned.

He softly brushed her cheek with his fingers. "I'm here, Princess. Go back to sleep."

Instead of obeying his suggestion, Diana awakened further and rose up to sit beside him. She took his arm and laid back on the couch, bringing Bruce with her. He adjusted slightly to find a more comfortable position between the Amazon and the back of the couch. Diana's hand tightened around his, pulling his arm around her waist and bringing their bodies into close contact. She whispered, "sleep," just before she entered the land of Hypnos. Bruce lay there, listening to her sleep. He burrowed his head into her hair, and took a deep breath. As he slowly breathed out, his eyes began to droop, and he quickly followed Diana into slumber.

iiiiiii

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened_

_Today never happened_

_Today never happened_

_Today never happened before_


End file.
